AFIB after Catheter Ablation

Had a catheter ablation at St Thomas' Hospital Wednesday 25 July under a general anaesthetic. Discharged midday Thursday, an ECG confirmed sinus rhythm. Stopped taking Dronedarone and Digoxin 62.5mg, continued with Statins and Rivaroxaban. Friday and Saturday suffered bouts of afib - indicated by my Kardia and overnight Fitbit sleep analysis. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday sinus rhythm and feeling confident. However since then, four days, my persistent afib has returned, pulse rate varying between 45 and 140 in a 30 second period. Has anyone experienced similar and do you think my condition may improve? My follow up appointment at the cardiac clinic is more than 2 months away. Should I wait until then or contact them now?

Alan

[meadfoot]

Sorry to hear you are having problems. St Thomas arrhythmia nurses are very good, why not contact them, leave a message and they will return your call and speak with your EP for you to get advice. Give it a try you will be glad you did they are usually very helpful. Good luck.

[Globe-J]

Hi Alan,

My experience and understanding suggest that your situation is unlikely to improve. May you be lucky though.

I opted for an open-heart surgery (the Maze Procedure), after a couple of unsuccessful ablations. The surgery seems to have worked in my case. Apparently, even this drastic measure fails in 5% of the cases.

Best wishes

J (-:

[Vonnieruth]

Have no medical knowledge on this so not able to say Advise maybe phone nurse like some have said If worried go or a and e if your worried Don't give up yet though It's early days and heart needs to settle down like other organs would after a procedure

[BobD Volunteer]

This is not uncommon and it is to early to tell what the final outcome may be in three to six months as the heart heals. Please read AF Association fact sheet on Recovering from Ablation as you will learn lots of thing to expect. Stay well hydrated and take the battery out of your kardia and fit bit. Right now you need to relax and rest rather than think about your heart.

[Hidden in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob, have been trying to take your advice, but still a bit down as I have not been in sinus rhythm for over two weeks now. Others mention bouts of AF but mine appears permanent.